When we believed that the number of conspiracy theories could no longer grow, the current COVID-19 pandemic has allowed us to reach finisterres that directly tread on surrealism: 5G, nanobots, lethal injections to nursing homes, that the virus has been designed, that the virus does not exist …
The popularizer Rocío Vidal , known as Schrödinger’s Gata on YouTube, for example, was surrounded by a group of these conspiranoids in a way that reminds us of medieval times.
Is it in our genes?
Our brains seem to be hardwired to give made-up or fabulous explanations of supernatural issues because we don’t like uncertainty: we prefer to fill in the gaps of ignorance with myths. However, why are things that are already perfectly explained misrepresented, complicated, and three feet off the hook?
Are we genetically inclined to superstition or just fearful of the truth? In the video below, Michio Kaku, Michael Shermer, Bill Nye, and others explain why some people believe conspiracy theories and others don’t .
From secret societies to fake moon landings, one thing humanity seems to have an endless supply for is conspiracy theory . In this compilation, physicist Michio Kaku, science communicator Bill Nye, psychologist Sarah Rose Cavanagh, skeptic Michael Shermer, and actor and playwright John Cameron Mitchell consider the nature of truth and why some groups believe what they do.
"I think there is a gene for superstition, a gene for rumors, a gene for magic, a gene for magical thinking," argues Kaku . The theoretical physicist says that science goes against ‘natural thinking’ and that the superstition gene persists because, once in ten times, it actually worked and saved our lives.
Other shared theories include the idea of cognitive dissonance, the dangerous power of fear to inhibit critical thinking, and the romanticization of Hollywood conspiracies. Because conspiracy theories are so diverse and multifaceted, fighting them has not been an easy task for science .